


First Impressions

by Gort



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Annoying Coworkers, Christmas Party, F/M, FitzSimmons Secret Santa, Fluff, Mistletoe Bombs, Roommates, Sci-Ops Era (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 05:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17258096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gort/pseuds/Gort
Summary: Sci-Ops era AU. Jemma's a bit preoccupied with trying to land the perfect field assignment for her and Fitz, and their co-workers' juvenile pranks are not helping her focus. Fitz is also distracted, but it's not just their work that's on his mind.Beta'd by sunalso!





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EclecticMuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclecticMuse/gifts).



> Written for the Fitzsimmons Secret Santa Exchange! 
> 
> Prompt was: first kiss under the mistletoe. I might have gone a little overboard on the mistletoe ;) Hope you enjoy!

“Morning, Fitz,” Jemma said, pouring herself a second cup of tea.

Her best friend shuffled into the kitchen, yawning, and grumbled something that might have been a greeting. He was still in his pajamas, his hair sticking up in every direction, and he was barefoot, which meant that as soon as he was coherent he was going to complain about the floor tiles being cold.

Jemma slid a cup of tea doctored just the way he liked it—with entirely too much sugar—over to him as he slumped down at the table next to her and picked up the steaming drink, inhaling deeply. She went back to perusing her notes regarding their latest experiment and glanced up again when he let out a heavy sigh.

“Floor’s bloody cold,” he grumbled, turning so he could tuck his toes between the chair and her thigh.  

“It’s December, Fitz, of course it’s cold.” Mentally, she added a pair of slippers to her holiday shopping list. They’d already agreed that they were under no obligation to exchange gifts, no matter what the societal expectations were, but she’d found it surprisingly easy to find things she was sure Fitz would like and the pile of presents under the tree kept getting larger. They wouldn’t be traveling home for Christmas this year, and Jemma wanted to make it a nice one.

If their last few years at Sci-Ops had taught her anything, it was a deep appreciation for a roommate who understood the value of cleaning schedules and color-coded kitchenware. Why they hadn’t just moved in together right after the Academy, she had no idea, and from the way Cindy had rolled her eyes when Jemma had informed her she was moving in with Fitz over the summer everyone had long been expecting it.

Living with Fitz also had the added bonus of increasing their productivity, since they could discuss work at any hour, and it’d been easy to set a routine that worked for both of them. Unlike Cindy, who’d been much more concerned with attracting the opposite sex than making sure the rubbish had been taken out. Jemma had tried pointing out that an overflowing bin was surely a turn-off for either sex, but Cindy had merely looked confused, which was how most of their exchanges went. Cindy also had a habit of winking excessively whenever Jemma mentioned Fitz, which was a rather off-putting tic when you were trying to discuss the application of a drone’s sensory capabilities.

No, Jemma didn’t miss her old roommate in the slightest.

Fitz’s eyes were open all the way now, which meant she could have a proper conversation with him. “Are you going to the office holiday party?”

“Do we have to?” Fitz wrinkled his nose.

“I don’t think we have to,” she said, “but it certainly wouldn’t hurt, especially since we’re applying for positions in the field. It shows that we’re willing to be team players.”

“Thought I did that last week when I pointed out the moronic design flaw in Gary’s self-destructing intel device.”

Jemma patted Fitz’s knee. “And I’m sure he appreciated your insight, but I was thinking more of the people who’ll have a hand in recommending us.”

Sighing, Fitz nodded. “Yeah, alright. We’ll go to the holiday party.”

Jemma beamed at him. “Excellent. What do you have in the way of a suit?”

Fitz choked on his tea.

***

“Seriously, Simmons, a coat and tie will be fine, I don’t need a suit.” Fitz handed over her mug of tea (with not nearly enough sugar) and dodged someone coming into the break room as they left. He watched Jemma out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her flexibility, but the stubborn set of her jaw told him he was probably going to lose the argument. Damn.

“Fitz,” Jemma sighed, clutching her mug and leading the way down the hall toward the lab. “We’re trying to make an impression.”

“Why can’t we just show them the DWARFs?”

Jemma poked his arm with her elbow and shot him his third favorite smile, the one that told him he’d scored a point for his side, but she was already working on a counterpoint.

His favorite smile used to be the one she’d give him when he solved a tricky problem plaguing their experiments, but lately it’d been supplanted by the one that only seemed to appear at the end of the day. It wasn’t as bright or as wide as the ones she usually used, it was softer, sweeter, and almost…affectionate. It made his insides somersault in a dangerous way. The first time he’d seen it they’d been saying their goodnights in the hallway of the flat she’d talked him into sharing and he’d ended up staring at the closed door of her room, stunned, for at least a full minute.

“Of course we’ll show them the DWARFs, but we can’t take those to the holiday party.” Jemma waved an impatient hand. “We might have been the youngest to graduate from the Academy, but we’re capable adults now with excellent credentials and wouldn’t it be nice if someone noticed that, first?”

She gave him a pleading look and Fitz caved. “Yeah, alright, but nothing too fancy, alright?”

Jemma beamed at him and gently knocked their shoulders together. “Excellent, we’ll go find you one after work.”

“I can do my own shopping, thank you.”

“Well, well, well,” a voice cut in. Fitz looked over to find Gary leaning against the wall next to the door that led to the lab. “If it isn’t the wonder twins.”

“Gary,” Fitz said warily.

“How is your project coming?” Jemma asked politely. “Did you have another question for Fitz?”

“What? No! I’ve got everything under control,” Gary said. His eyes drifting up over their heads and Fitz looked up, confused. Something green and slightly shiny hung from the ceiling. 

Next to Fitz, Jemma wrinkled her nose. “Is that supposed to be mistletoe?”

“It is mistletoe.” Gary put his hand on his hips.

“The leaves are all wrong,” Jemma said critically. Fitz squinted up at the thing. She was right, it didn’t look like mistletoe in the slightest, other than the fact that it was green and hanging from the ceiling. “And what are they attached to?”

“Nothing,” Gary said quickly. “And the leaves are just fine, okay? You guys are…” He made a frustrated noise and Fitz looked over, puzzled.

“We’re what?”

Gary pinched the bridge of his nose. “You-”

A high-pitched squeal interrupted him and made Fitz jump slightly. Jemma grasped his arm as her old roommate came barreling towards them and tugged him out of her path. For some reason, Cindy winked at them before grabbing the lapels of Gary’s lab coat and dragging him under the "mistletoe”.

“Wait,” Gary sputtered as Cindy planted a smacking kiss on his cheek. “It-”

A second later the thing on the ceiling exploded and a shower of red and green glitter descended, coating Gary, who looked resigned, and an astonished Cindy.

Fitz blinked at them, then up at the empty ceiling. Whatever the thing had been, it was gone now.

“Is that glitter?” Jemma asked.

“The whole point of a self-destructing intel device is that it leaves no trace,” Fitz pointed out. “You might want to tweak that a bit.”

***

Jemma plonked a mug of tea beside Fitz and collapsed into a chair, breathing a sigh of relief.

“That bad?” Fitz asked from where he was fine-tuning Sneezy. He pushed up his magnifiers and gave her his undivided attention, which never failed to warm her to her toes. She’d never had a best friend before Fitz, and it was nice to finally understand why everyone seemed to always make a big fuss over them. Quite frankly, she much preferred spending time with Fitz over trying to date. No one else could follow her train of thought quite like he could, and even his terrible taste in films was easy to overlook when he joined her in complaining about all the junk science in them.

“It’s a madhouse,” Jemma confirmed. “I have no idea how many of those things Gary made, but they’re all over the building and there’s glitter everywhere. The mop-up team is having fits, though Cindy really seems to be enjoying herself. I think she’s trying to top the number of times she was bombed yesterday.”

Fitz peered at her and Jemma quickly looked down. “Oh no, I made sure to change coats, did I miss some?” She plucked at her sweater anxiously. Fitz leaned in closer, his breath ruffling a strand of her hair, and reached up. Jemma’s breath caught in her throat as his fingertips grazed her cheekbone and came away with one tiny sparkle.

“Just one,” he said, his voice low. 

Jemma’s heart tripped along a little faster in her chest and she felt herself blush for some inexplicable reason. “Thank you.”

“’Course.” Fitz smiled and moved away to wash his hands and Jemma touched her face where he’d found the piece of glitter. He always had been very observant. It was an admirable quality in a scientist.

“Gary seems quite determined to show off his work,” Jemma said as Fitz returned. He settled the magnifiers back onto his nose and picked up Sneezy again. “You don’t think he’s also applying for field assignments?”

“I sincerely doubt shutting down half the lab with glitter is going to be looked on very favorably.”

Jemma slumped back in her chair. “No, of course not. I just wondered if maybe we should do something, as well. Maybe send one of the drones to-”

Fitz cradled Sneezy protectively in his hands. “What? No, Simmons, these are sensitive machines with a serious purpose! You’re not using them to win a prank war.”

Jemma let her lower lip sneak out, but Fitz seemed unmoved. “Oh, fine. But you did get a suit?”

“I got a bloody suit, and a shirt and tie and please stop texting me about belts, I know how to properly dress myself.”

“I just want to make an impression, Fitz!”

“So you’ve said, several times.” He glanced up, his tone softening. “They’ll see how amazing you are, stop worrying, alright?”

“How amazing we are,” Jemma corrected, lifting a foot to nudge Fitz’s. He smiled, and her eyes caught on the curve of his lower lip for just a moment, her stomach fluttering. “Maybe we should watch a movie tonight,” she suggested. “You can choose.”

“On a weeknight?” Fitz sounded surprised.

“No one’s getting any work done around here, and the party’s tomorrow.”

“Dinosaurs with questionable genetics or impossible weather?”

Jemma settled back in her chair, clutching her mug of tea and feeling utterly content. “Dinosaurs.”

“Excellent choice. Let me finish this up and we’ll go home.”

***

The building was quiet when they arrived their customary twenty minutes early the next morning. Almost suspiciously so. There were no odd plants affixed to the ceiling, which made Fitz cautiously hopeful that the worst was over. Only the occasional sparkle on the floor betrayed the fact that the last couple of days had been an exploding glitter extravaganza, and everyone seemed to be going about their usual business.

“Finally,” Fitz grumbled under his breath.

“What’s that?” Jemma asked next to him.

“Nothing. Just nice to not have to dodge Gary’s stupid devices.”

“He really should have taken your advice and-” Jemma cut herself off as they rounded the corner and the door of the lab came into view, along with Gary, who was pacing the hallway. Fitz immediately grasped Jemma’s arm and pushed her to one side, peering suspiciously up at the ceiling. “Oh, what now?” Jemma said, sounding irritated.

“Morning,” Gary said, cheerfully.

“Morning,” Fitz replied, furrowing his brow.

“Did a little more tweaking on the intel device. The real one,” Gary added quickly. “You think you might take a look at it?”

Fitz exchanged glances with Jemma, who lifted one shoulder. “Sure, just give me a bit.”

“Thanks.” Gary flashed them a smile and opened the door to the lab, gesturing for them to go ahead.

“Yeah,” Fitz began, just as a thousand pinpoints of light flashed in his peripheral vision and Jemma yelped. He pulled her closer and began to back up, only to have an electrical charge zip up his leg. There were glowing, golden lines sprouting from the ceiling just inside the door that reached all the way to the floor.  “What. The. Hell,” Fitz barked out, slowly spinning around with Jemma clutching the front of his shirt, her eyes wide. The lines formed a cone with them in the center, and Fitz lifted his eyes, resigned, to find one of Gary’s idiotic devices affixed overhead.

“Great,” Gary said cheerfully. “Really appreciate the help with the test phase.”

Fitz scowled at him. “Yeah, very funny. Now turn it off.”

Gary smirked. “You figure out how to turn it off, if you’re so smart.” He gave them a little wave before turning on his heel and disappearing as the door closed behind him.

“I’m starting to not like Gary very much,” Jemma said, cautiously lifting her head. Fitz quickly cupped the back of it before she could get zapped by the electrified wires.

“Careful.”

Jemma settled her head back on his shoulder and Fitz absently twisted a strand of her hair around a finger while he glared at the device overhead. The wires were all connected to the little box which was, once again, covered in green leaves that only vaguely resembled mistletoe.

“Can you see it?” Jemma asked. Her nose brushed against his throat and the spark that zipped up Fitz’s spine was entirely different than the electric shock he’d received earlier. He took a breath, trying to concentrate, and found himself distracted by the scent of Jemma’s shampoo instead. She was pressed up against him, warm and soft and entirely perfect, which were all things he should not be noticing about his best friend. “Fitz?”

“Um, yes,” he said, his voice horrifyingly uneven. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “It looks a lot like the other mistletoe bombs. I should be able to disable it, if I can just, ah-” He shifted slightly so he could slide a hand in his pocket and fish out his multitool.

“Am I in the way?” Jemma asked, her head still resting on his shoulder. “I think there’s more room closer to the floor. I can…”

He grabbed her arm as she started to slide down and visions of Jemma kneeling at his feet nearly made his brain short out. “No,” he managed. “I…uh, no.”

“Well, what if I-” Jemma turned her head, her lips brushing against his neck and sending his pulse racing when the wires around them all fizzled and suddenly went dark.

Fitz reached out and cautiously poked at a wire, but nothing happened. A moment later the wires disintegrated, as did the box. Jemma cautiously lifted her head, and anything Fitz was going to say got stuck in his throat. Her eyes were bright and curious and lovely and very, very close. Inhaling shakily, Fitz tried to smile. “Looks like that works about as well as the rest of his prototypes.”

Jemma laughed, her hand sliding down his chest as she stepped back. Fitz reluctantly released her, his heart aching, just as Cindy yanked the door open. Jemma snatched her hands away from Fitz and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Hey!” Cindy said. “Ooh, did Gary finally get you?” She gave them her usual wink, though whatever she was trying to convey had always been lost of Fitz. “Bet you figured out how to disable it pretty quick, huh?”

“Yes?” Jemma said, sounding uncertain.

Cindy laughed. “It’s nice of Gary to give us all these excuses, isn’t it?” She winked again and headed past them to her station, humming something under her breath that might have been a Christmas carol.

Jemma reached up to touch her mouth and Fitz’s hand strayed to his throat as the connection finally clicked. The devices went off when people kissed. Jemma had kissed him. Sort of. He felt a little dizzy and he couldn’t seem to look away from where Jemma’s fingertips were pressed against her lips. A red flush dusted her cheeks and all he wanted to do was lean in and find out if she tasted as nice as she smelled.

Oh. Oh no.

Bloody buggering hell, he was in love with his best friend. He was going kill Gary.

***

Jemma smoothed down the front of her navy-blue dress for the thousandth time and nervously checked her reflection. No lipstick on teeth, check. Sparkly yet tasteful earrings that her mother had sent, check. Dress that hit in all the right places without being too tight or flashy, check and check. She took a breath and slipped on her shoes—also sparkly, but with a low heel that would hopefully be comfortable the entire night—before leaving her bedroom.

Fitz was pacing in the living room, and Jemma’s heart lurched in her chest at the sight. He must be as worried as she was about tonight, though her nervousness about the party had mostly been eclipsed by something even more pressing. Ever since this morning, when they’d been tangled together because of Gary’s childish prank, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking of Fitz in ways one really shouldn’t about a best friend.

The suit was not helping in the slightest. The snug fit across his shoulders reminded her of how sweetly he’d cradled her head there, and the trousers were doing wonderful things for his bum. Jemma was beginning to think she might have been too hasty in dismissing Cindy all those times she wanted to discuss an attractive man. Jemma wouldn’t mind talking quite a bit about Fitz right now.

It was very confusing.

Fitz caught sight of her, and his eyes went wide as he stopped in his tracks. “Jemma, you look…ah, nice. Very-” He cut himself off. “Cab’s waiting downstairs.”

Jemma nodded and Fitz held up her coat, helping her into it as she put her back to him and tried to focus on the party instead of Fitz’s hands. There would be their coworkers from Sci-Ops, of course, but some of the SHIELD brass liked to make an appearance at these sorts of events, and she was determined to introduce herself to as many as possible. Usually, having Fitz on her side at this sort of thing would make her feel more secure, but this time he was knocking her a little off-kilter.

“Ready?” she said brightly, trying to project a confidence she didn’t feel. Fitz nodded and they headed downstairs.

The ride over was blessedly short, and the crush of people in the Sci-Ops lobby gave her the perfect excuse to stand closer to Fitz so she could breathe him in. The place had been transformed, with an enormous tree lit in a veritable rainbow of colors anchoring one end and music competing with the low, constant hum of conversation. Jemma could just make out someone singing quite effusively about wanting ‘you’ for Christmas, which was entirely unhelpful in her current predicament.

Garlands dressed with ornaments cross-crossed overhead and the entire place was lit with fairy lights. Fitz was examining the ceiling and Jemma followed suit but didn’t see anything unusual. “He wouldn’t,” she whispered to Fitz as they checked their coats. “Not with everyone here.”

“I need a drink,” he muttered. His hand dropped to her lower back to usher her along and Jemma was so busy enjoying the warm press of his palm she forgot to start cataloging faces of people she wanted to introduce herself to until they were halfway across the room.

“Wait,” Jemma hissed, coming to a halt. “I know him.”

“Who?”

“Agent Phillip Coulson.”

“Is he the Hub-based one, the ship, or the classified mission we applied to?”

“Classified mission.”

Fitz let out a gusty sigh. “Alright, but you owe me a drink.”

“I’ll buy you two,” Jemma said, nervously tugging on her dress. “You’re sure I look alright?”

“Jemma.” The affectionate tone made her cheeks heat, and she dropped her gaze to the floor before gathering her courage and turning to face him. He met her eyes with an intensity that made her flush further, and good lord, she needed to control herself. He was still Fitz, for heaven’s sake. “You look amazing.”

Jemma’s stomach did a flip, and she couldn’t seem to find her voice. She stood rooted to the floor as Fitz reached up and slid his thumb along her jawline. Jemma swayed towards him, bracing her hands against his chest, and he kept watching her, his eyes hooded and dark. “Glitter?” she whispered.

“Sure.”

She tugged him closer, no longer caring where they were or why they’d come, and slid her arms around his neck. He settled his hands on her hips and, from a distance, Jemma supposed it might look like they were dancing, if either of them were inclined to move. “Fitz,” she managed, unable to tear her eyes from his mouth.

And then she kissed him.

He let out a startled noise before he relaxed, his hands sliding around her waist and holding her close as they worked out whose nose went where. Jemma reveled in the softness of his lips and sucked the lower one onto her mouth, so she could find out if he tasted as wonderful as he smelled. It was even better than she’d imagined, and she let out a pleased little hum, her fingers rubbing circles on the nape of his neck.

Distantly, she heard several tiny pops, like miniature bottles of champagne being opened all around them, and Fitz broke away, his chest heaving. “What…” He looked up and groaned before dropping his head to her shoulder. “Oh, come on.”

Snowflakes began to drift down around them. Jemma glanced up to see brightly lit, multicolored mistletoe bunches suddenly visible in the garlands around them, all releasing some kind of artificial snowfall, much to the delight of the other guests. She ran a hand soothingly over Fitz’s curls, unable to dredge up a bit of annoyance about the silly little devices that had led to this moment.

Gary strolled by with Cindy, a drink in his hand and a smug look on his face. Cindy gave Jemma an enthusiastic wink, and for the first time, Jemma completely understood why. “Thanks, Fitz, you’ve been a great help,” Gary said.

Fitz lifted his head and let out a growl that Jemma found surprisingly attractive. She was learning all kinds of new things about herself tonight. Though realizing she was in love with her best friend rather overshadowed the rest.

Someone cleared their throat next to them. “Are you Fitz and Simmons?”

Jemma’s eyes went wide, and she smoothed down Fitz’s tie before taking a deep breath, plastering on a smile, and turning to find Agent Coulson beside them. She barely had a moment to miss the feel of Fitz’s arms around her when he took her hand, slotting their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Yes, sir, that’s me. I mean, us. He’s Fitz.”

“Simmons.” Fitz jerked his head in her direction.

Coulson looked amused. “I heard you were inseparable.”

Jemma was sure her face was bright red. “Yes, well, that’s…new. We’re very dedicated to our work, I assure you, we would never let-”

“Also heard you were the best,” Coulson continued as though he hadn’t heard her. “Still interested in working in the field?”

Fitz’s hand tightened around hers. “Yes,” Jemma replied eagerly.

“Great.” Coulson beamed at them. “I’ll be in touch. Enjoy the party.” He walked away, leaving Jemma gaping after him.

“Tonight is going a lot differently than I expected,” Fitz said after a moment.

Jemma let out a laugh and leaned against him. “I believe I owe you a drink.”

“We’re alright?” he asked.

Jemma lifted up on her toes to brush a kiss across his lips “You’re making an excellent impression.” 

**Author's Note:**

> On tumblr @robotgort and pillowfort @gort. Thanks for reading!


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